Sunday, February 27, 2011

Camping in the West 2 – Crater Lake National Park

A Paradise!!!! These were the first words to come out of my mouth still amazed and stuck in disbelief. The north entrance of the park, which passes through Pumice desert, gave us no idea of what we were going to see soon. The pristine blue water ringed by cliffs covered in greenery and white snow blanket was the best view till date.
Filled with rain and melted snow, Crater lake is the deepest lake in U.S formed when a volcano called Mount Mazama erupted and collapsed into itself. Later eruptions formed Wizard island which further adds to the beauty(no wonder why its called so),  and offers its own trails. Rim Drive, a 33-mile road circles the caldera rim with pullouts and lookouts for scenic lakeviews(closed from mid October to late June).
Cleetwood cove trail is the only way to access the water, so boat tour requires hiking 2.2 miles round trip on this strenuous trail. It was indeed, believe me! The 1 and 3/4 hour narrated boat tour circles the inside of the caldera, with a stop at Wizard island and a close-up look at Phantom ship. Unfortunately, we missed the tour as it was available only from July to mid September. I was quite surprised to see few people jump in the ice cold water and swim, though just for a couple of min.
 We drove on Rim drive to Rim Village which has a Café and Gift shop, visitor center and Crater lake lodge(I am sure it would be damn expensive). We had our lunch watching the lake and left in awe that a cataclysmic eruption has evolved into such beauty!!  Nature is a true wonder..

2 comments:

  1. Just found your blog, while researching "Crater Lake"...looking forward to reading more of your posts for ideas for our next camping trip!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  2. @talulahbell
    Thanks much! I am glad its been of some help:)

    ReplyDelete